Sponsor with Compassion

Sponsorship means more now than ever before
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252
Days Waiting
child portrait

Tharun

  • Country: Sri Lanka
  • D.O.B: May 4, 2018
  • Age: 3

  • Gender: Boy
393
Days Waiting
child portrait

Belinda

  • Country: Ghana
  • D.O.B: February 5, 2013
  • Age: 8

  • Gender: Girl
290
Days Waiting
child portrait

Framiel

  • Country: Dominican Republic
  • D.O.B: April 2, 2016
  • Age: 5

  • Gender: Boy
688
Days Waiting
child portrait

Kimshen

  • Country: Philippines
  • D.O.B: July 31, 2018
  • Age: 3

  • Gender: Boy
Portrait of Tharun
Meet Tharun
Tharun is 3 years old and lives in Sri Lanka.
LK090200090 | Days Waiting: 252
Country: Sri Lanka
Birthday: May 4, 2018 (3 years old)
Gender: Boy

Tharun lives with his mother. Tharun's mother is Sometimes Employed. Her occupation is Day Labor / Different Jobs. Tharun has 2 siblings living in the household. Tharun is not required to help with family duties at home due to age. Tharun's favourite activities and interests include: Art or Drawing, Ball Games, Music, Running, and Singing. Activities that Tharun enjoys through the church are: Only Attends Project. Tharun attends school. He is in the equivalent of preschool. His performance in school is Average.

Tharun's Country Details

Sri Lanka is an island located just south of India in the Indian Ocean. The terrain is made up of low-lying plains, although there is a mountainous region in the southern part of the island. Because of the tropical location, Sri Lanka experiences an extremely rainy climate, with monsoons in the northeast from December to March and monsoons in the southwest from June to October.

The majority of Sri Lankans are Sinhalese, although a small percentage of the population is also made up of Moors and Tamil. Sinhala is the official language, the other national language being Tamil. Although English is used in the government, only 10% of the population speaks English. Buddhism is the dominant religion practiced by 69% of Sri Lankans, while a small minority practice Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. As Sri Lanka is located in close proximity to major shipping routes in the Indian Ocean, much of the economy consists of exporting goods. More than half of Sri Lanka's exports are textiles and garments. Many Sri Lankans work abroad, mainly in the Middle East.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the island was controlled first by the Portuguese and then the Dutch. Sri Lanka celebrated its independence in 1948 although at that time it was known as Ceylon; it was not known as Sri Lanka until 1972. Beginning in 1983, the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority fought an ethnic war that lasted for more than two decades. Efforts by Norway in 2002 to broker a peace agreement between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in early 2008 were unsuccessful, and the conflict continued until May of 2009, when the government defeated the LTTE, finally bringing resolution to the longstanding unrest.

African children playing

Compassion’s ministry is focused on what we call holistic child development. This means developing children in all the different aspects of their lives—their minds, bodies and relationships—while giving them the opportunity to hear about and experience the love of Jesus from caring local church staff and volunteers.

How does sponsorship help kids?

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Formal and non-formal educational opportunitiesCompassion assists children with their primary school education and gives opportunities to attend secondary school, as well as providing vocational training opportunities and extra-curricular activities such as sports, field trips, music and computer training.
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Health care, hygiene training and supplementary foodKids get a healthy snack or meal when they attend program activities, receive regular health check-ups, and learn how to take care of their bodies and form healthy relationships.
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The love and support of a local church and the opportunity to hear about Jesus Because Compassion partners with local churches, children are connected to a local Christian community where they have the opportunity to hear the gospel from caring church staff and volunteers.
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Personal attention, guidance and loveChildren are cared for and invested in by members of their own communities, who encourage them to discover their unique gifts, passions and abilities. Their sponsors also play an important role in this through their prayers and letters.

How is sponsorship impacted during the COVID-19 crisis?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are empowering the local church to use your sponsorship donations to meet urgent and critical needs of families with children/youth registered in the program.

Funds previously used at the child development centres can now be directed as needed to children and their families for necessities like food, clean water, shelter, clothing, household items, and even medical care and trauma counselling. You can learn more about the impact of the pandemic on our program and how our staff are responding to the crisis with great faith and creativity here.

Is sponsorship still relevant during the COVID-19 crisis?

It is! In fact, sponsorship during COVID-19 is needed now more than ever as it enables us to meet the very real and urgent needs of children and their families.

Sponsorship empowers the church to serve the children we love, ensuring they have the hygiene, medication and health supplies they need to make it through the pandemic. It ensures sponsored children have the food and housing security they need as their country deals with the ongoing impact of COVID-19. And it also enables our local partners to share encouragement from the Bible, tutor and deliver programming and deliver trauma counselling in these unprecedented times.

Why do you work with local churches?

Compassion works exclusively with local churches because they know the names and faces of the children in their community and can best understand and respond to their challenges. They are known and trusted by their neighbours and are able to reach those in the greatest need with compassion and through the love of God.

We equip our local church partners with the resources, training and expertise to help children escape poverty. Each church is empowered to implement the program in a way that meets the specific needs of the children they serve. In this way the physical, spiritual, emotional and relational needs for children are met as they are empowered to overcome poverty in all its forms.

Do kids need to be Christian to be in Compassion’s program?

Absolutely not! We encourage children and families of all faiths and backgrounds to register in our programs and would never require or coerce anyone to convert to Christianity.

Learn More

At Compassion, we take financial stewardship seriously.

As certified members of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities, Compassion Canada is committed to handling the finances entrusted to us with the utmost integrity. This year, 84.7 per cent of funds were used for program activities benefiting the children we serve, and 15.3 per cent for support services.

Today, children around the world are discovering that poverty doesn’t have to be their future. Help one more do the same by sponsoring with Compassion!

Children running and smiling